Horribleness
by EccentrikPirate
Summary: A Ten ficlet challenge. Ten songs. Ten ficlets. Details inside. "Billy paused—fingers still tapping away at the Horrible Remote of their own free will. Crap. What did he just say? The human race was a rotting fish? Oh crap. That sounded awful."
1. I Promise You I Will

So I got this idea from a user called Supaslim (kudos to you) over in the Watchmen category so I decided to start one for good ole Dr. Horrible. Super fun and you just can't stop once you start:

1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.  
2. Turn your music player on and turn it on random/shuffle.  
3. Write a drabblet/ficlet related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterward! No matter how whacked out your drabble is. :)  
4. Do ten of these, then post them.

* * *

**1. "I Promise You I Will"- Depeche Mode. **_"I'm sorry but I'm just thinking of the right words to say. I know they don't sound the way I planned them to be, but if you wait around awhile I'll make you fall for me."_

"…cut off the head!" Billy brilliantly proclaimed, thrilled by the simplicity of Penny's presence alone.

"Of the human race?" she questioned, skepticism was obviously laced in her sweet voice.

Billy paused—fingers still tapping away at the Horrible Remote of their own free will. Crap. What did he just say? The human race was a rotting fish? Oh crap. That sounded _awful_.

"It's not a perfect metaphor," he lamely replied.

Penny nodded; a faint smile crossed her lips. She was humoring him. He was losing her and he didn't even _have _her yet.

"I'd love to sign it!"

Penny beamed.

* * *

*My itunes likes to regurgitate songs, this one showed up when I was writing Watchmen ficlets too.


	2. All Along the Watchtower

**2. **

**"All Along the Watchtower"- Jimmi Hendrix. **_"Outside in the cold distance a wild cat did growl, two riders were approaching and the wind began to howl."_

"I fought only the** symptoms** leaving the disease itself **unchecked**," an adolescent Billy read aloud. Downstairs his parents were fighting—_again—_so he boarded himself up in his bedroom and buried his nose in his comic book collection. In those flashy, grainy pages Billy could easily lose himself in the elaborate plots of heroic heroes and hapless villains.

"I want a divorce!" his mother shouted.

Billy gets along better with these comic characters than real people anyway. He was, how to put this delicately, too _smart_ for them. Too smart to play with all the other idiot children, and was therefore rejected. Ostracized.

Billy smirked. Maybe _he_ was the smartest man in the world.

The blond boy stared down at the purple and gold character with who he suddenly noticed a resemblance. Maybe Billy _could_ be the smartest man in the world.

"Leave and never come back, you bastard!" breaking glass.

Naturally he could solve all his problems with such a superior intellect. He could solve the whole _world's _problems. Warmth spread through Billy's chest and he felt a kinship like never before with this fictional Hero and his sincere desire to save the world from its scummy sickness.

_This world could be saved,_ Billy thought, _with the right leadership._

_

* * *

  
_

_*If you aren't aware the comic book young Billy is meant to be reading is __Watchmen__. "All Along the Watchtower" is kind of that novel's theme song—and for those of you who are familiar with __Watchmen__ I'd say Dr. Horrible and Ozymandias have quite a few things in common, don't you? If you don't, then read it, it's excellent. Also what Billy is reading is a direct quote form the novel that after I read went "hmmm... Joss Whedon, what have you been reading lately?"  
_


	3. Linger

**3. "Linger"- The Cranberries. **_"You know I'm such a fool for you. You got me wrapped around your finger, do you have to let it linger?"_

It burned. The spot on his thigh were she had touched him. It _burned_.

Billy scratched at the patch of skin that had been scorched by Penny's gentle touch.

Rationally the scientist in Billy knew Penny's fingers couldn't possibly have burned him, especially through his jeans. That just wasn't possible.

But it _did._ She lingered on him, and the memory of that moment between them left Billy's leg blazing. Ha, what moment? It was more like an _almost _moment. When they…they almost…

Billy gulped. They almost kissed didn't they?


	4. Decode

**4. "Decode"- Paramore. **_"How can I decide what's right when you're clogging up my mind? I can't win a losing fight." _

Dr. Horrible didn't want to shoot Captain Hammer.

The decision shocked the mad scientist. Of course he _wanted _to shoot Captain Hammer, what was he thinking? His entrance into the Evil League of Evil depended on this pivotal moment.

The doctor made effort to pull the trigger and failed.

He clenched his teeth, envisioning the kick of Bad Horse's hooves against the back of his skull.

For the League, for the League, for the League, do it for the League! For Penny!

Penny wouldn't want this. All Penny wanted was to help people, not murder obnoxious heroes.

But now everyone was watching, staring, hanging on Dr. Horrible's every maniacal word. The League was watching. Bad Horse was watching.

Thankfully, Penny wasn't.


	5. Stars in Their Eyes

**5. "Stars in Their Eyes"- Just Jack**_**.**__ "They'll just put you in the spotlight and hope that you'll do alright… or maybe not."_

Captain Hammer was a celebrity, a God amongst men.

You know he never started doing this hero _stuff_ for the fame. Sure, when he was young Hammer dreamt of being a movie star, or an astronaut, or an athlete or in a rock band like every other kid. Though in all likely hood he'd just end up running his father's hardware store someday. He hadn't even thought about heroism—he was never in to comic books or anything.

Then in Junior High he rescued Jenny McHenry from being hit by that out of control school bus—by taking the blow instead. He didn't even know he could _do_ that until it happened. Similar things happened after that incident, but young Hammer had hoped nobody would ever notice this weird quirk of his. Having superpowers made you a freak didn't it?

But somebody had noticed. Somebody called the press, the television stations, the radio, _everyone. _Everybody just had to see this super kid running—maybe even _flying_—about town.

When the first reporter asked what his 'name' was he replied "Captain Hammer" because, you know, it sounded cool at the time.


	6. Your Song

**6. "Your Song" – Ewan McGregor (Elton John cover from Moulin Rouge). **_"I hope you don't mind that I put down in words how wonderful life is now you're in the world." _

She wrote him a song.

After Captain Hammer stopped those muggers threatening her.

He was wonderful. Simply wonderful. There were no better words to describe her hero. The greatest hero ever, of all time!

She became his biggest fan—self-proclaimed.

She traced his every heroic exploit, followed his every step, followed him into the barber to snatch some clippings of his hair, dug through trash to steal his dry-cleaning bill.

She wrote him a song too. A song about how wonderful it was to have Captain Hammer, a real hero around.

She mailed it first class.

She's still waiting for that reply by the time Dr. Horrible catches her eye.


	7. Get it Faster

**7. "Get it Faster"- Jimmy Eat World**. _"I'm finding out that cheating get's it faster."_

You have to do something truly spectacular in order to be accepted into the Evil League of Evil; all on your own too. No help allowed.

Robbing a bank—beginner stuff.

Rigging an entire casino in your favor—getting better, but not exactly evil.

Erasing a tiny piece of a bill that said something along the lines of 'salary cap' and sending the entire nation into such an outrage that death threats are made upon the lives of those given substantial bonuses while the rest of the country is in economic turmoil—now we're talking.

She can't do any of those things. She doesn't even have any powers. She just likes snakes. They slither and hiss and are generally associated with evilly stuff.

She needs—and she really does hate to admit this—she needs help getting into the ELE. Her application just isn't strong enough.

She's heard about this psychic, Hour Glass, that'll help her out for a fee.

But that's cheating. Cheating is wrong, it's unfair, it's…OH!

It's evil.

* * *

_*Inspired by something Joss Whedon said about none of the other Evil League of Evil members actually deserving to be there, sans Fake Thomas Jefferson._


	8. I'm Not That Girl

**8. "I'm Not That Girl"- Idina Menzel (Wicked Soundtrack**_**).**__ "Don't wish, don't start, wishing only wounds the heart."_

Penny has always wanted what she can't have.

That pony at age ten.

Her father to come for her thirteenth birthday.

That scholarship to Princeton.

A boyfriend who respects her.

Feed the hungry, help the homeless.

World peace.

The cute boy at the Laundromat who's always staring at her.

He's reserved and so is she. But he's…he's not interested in the same things. He practically laughed at her desire to help the needy.

Penny has always settled for what wants her instead.


	9. Bohemian Rhapsody

**9. "Bohemian Rhapsody" – Queen.** _"Momma, didn't mean to make you cry. If I'm not make again by this time tomorrow, carry on, carry on."_

He writes a letter to his mother the night of his induction.

Evil-doers don't have families. They don't have mothers that once packed PB and J sandwiches with the crusts cut off for lunch. They don't have mothers that used to tuck them in at night. They don't have mothers that cried in shame when they dropped out of college to pursue a life of—

Well he never quite said what it was he would be pursuing. He thought it would be best if his mother never knew that particular detail. He thought it would protect her somehow if she didn't know.

So in the letter he apologizes—profusely—as he calmly explains he won't be coming home for Christmas; that he won't be coming home ever again.

She'll cry when she reads it.

Part of him believes she already recognized Dr. Horrible's face on the news.

They were just both in denial.


	10. I Shot the Sheriff

**10. "I Shot the Sheriff"- Bob Marley. **_"I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy." _

"I didn't do it!" the boy yelled.

Captain Hammer smirked. He knew better than to listen to this prepubescent criminal's useless pleas of innocence.

"Now, now," the Captain chuckles, "if you just admit the _obvious_ here…"

"I didn't do it!"

The child is sobbing. His eyes are red rimmed and mucus flows freely from his nostrils. The boy's knees are quacking. His fingers are trembling.

The gun is lying at his feet, but the boy swears he never even touched it. He just_ found_ the weapon lying there.

Captain Hammer doesn't believe this murderer for a second. His story of a retreating man down the nearest alley is clever, but stupid.

"I didn't do it!" the boy still proclaims even after his apprehension.

**The End**


End file.
